Three days passed in a flash.
Vane had been sailing across the sea during those three days. Thanks to the log pose, he was able to roughly estimate the distance to Water 7.
As for food, the pirate ship he had taken had some supplies, but not much. He hadn't encountered any islands along the way either—just an endless expanse of ocean. It gave the eerie illusion of being stuck in place.
Aside from that, it had been relatively smooth sailing. He did run into a pirate ship along the way—rookies from the West Blue who had just entered the Grand Line. They foolishly thought they could capture him, but they were easily crushed by Vane. His punch sent one of them flying straight into the sea.
Vane was never the merciful type to begin with, and since they were pirates, he showed no hesitation.
Weakness was a sin.
"A bounty of 700 million... I didn't expect to get something that crazy on my first voyage," Vane muttered as he unfolded a freshly delivered newspaper.
The news had just arrived—courtesy of the seagulls that delivered papers daily across the seas, dropping them off at ships and islands.
Now headed toward Water 7, Vane was curious. He'd heard that the city was one of the richest in the world. But he hadn't spent the past three days idly—every day, he'd been training and developing his Devil Fruit abilities.
On the first day, Vane tried replicating Whitebeard's technique of causing tsunamis. He wasn't as monstrously strong as Whitebeard, but he could still manipulate the water around his ship. The sea rose and surged with each vibration.
On the second day, he activated the quake ability at the stern, causing the sea behind the ship to rise and crash into a wave. The impact created a powerful push from behind, increasing the ship's speed significantly.
By practicing like this, he was both mastering his control over the Quake-Quake Fruit and accelerating his travel. Two birds with one stone.
Having this kind of power for just three days had already become addictive. Vane found himself reveling in it daily.
But there was a cost—his appetite had skyrocketed. With each use of his power, he needed more food to recover.
Two more days quickly passed.
Vane's understanding of the Quake-Quake Fruit deepened. The version he had obtained was already in an intermediate development stage, similar to the strength Whitebeard once had. But to truly unlock its full potential, Vane had to explore its limits himself.
Today, the weather was still clear.
In a small kingdom located in the first half of the Grand Line, five ships were sailing out of the harbor. These were World Government naval escort vessels, responsible for transporting [Heavenly Tribute Gold].
As part of the 170 member nations of the World Government, each country was obligated to contribute a portion of its wealth to the Celestial Dragons. This annual tribute ensured their continued protection by the World Government. Without it, nations risked being overrun by pirates in this era of lawlessness.
Poor regions or non-affiliated islands that couldn't afford the tribute were often overrun by pirates or traffickers—transforming into "lawless islands."
The condition to join the World Government and receive its protection was simple: pay the tribute. That money, of course, was used to maintain the lavish lifestyles of the Celestial Dragons living in the Holy Land of Mariejois.
Leading this escort fleet was a commodore. The four ships behind him carried the hard-earned wealth of the local citizens.
"That ship… something's off."
The commodore had spotted a vessel in the distance. Water was surging unnaturally at its stern, propelling it forward at an incredible speed.
"It's a pirate ship!"
He narrowed his eyes at the sail—a skull and crossbones was clearly displayed.
"All hands on alert!"
The commodore's voice boomed across the deck. He grew tense. The ship's route crossed dangerously close to theirs.
He couldn't afford to be careless. Doflamingo had once hijacked a tribute convoy and used the gold to blackmail the World Government. He succeeded, having his bounty removed and earning a seat among the Seven Warlords.
Since then, the World Government had tightened security around tribute shipments. Nothing could be allowed to happen to the [Heavenly Tribute Gold].
That gold was for the Celestial Dragons to waste—it was unthinkable for anything to go wrong.
"There shouldn't be any pirates bold enough to attack the tribute convoy in this part of the Grand Line…" the commodore muttered, trying to calm his nerves.
But aboard the fast-approaching ship was none other than Vane.
"Navy?"
Vane noticed the five warships off to the right.
"Heavenly tribute?"
The tribute ships had special markings—symbols that warned pirates and merchant ships alike to steer clear.
But that only piqued Vane's interest.
"If it's heavenly tribute… I can't let that go," Vane said with a grin.
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